From dusted-off bikes to electric dreams: UK green economy booms on back of Covid-19

Pandemic accelerates developments in sustainability from businesses and consumers

The queues were absolutely crazy", says Gavin Hudson, the owner of the cycle repair startup Butternut Bikes. As lockdown descended he began fixing old bikes in the parking lot of a Methodist church in north London, before moving his services to a furloughed pub in Crouch End. However, the surge in demand for cycle repairs meant the pop-up was soon able to afford a permanent address.

Some people come in and tell us they haven't been on a bike in 10 years," Hudson says. They are dragging all kinds of bikes, covered in cobwebs, out from the shed to get back on the roads. It's great. I think it's really true that there are few problems in society today that can't be made better by getting people walking and cycling more."

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The number of people considering the purchase of an electric vehicle is rising